(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A Colorado Springs family is suing the owners of a local KFC and Taco Bell, after their father died when he was taken hostage in the drive-thru back in 2023.
The lawsuit claims the chain restaurants ignored the history of crime and violence in the area, which led to his murder. 31-year-old Qualin Campbell was shot and killed by a homeless man while getting lunch at KFC off South Nevada Avenue on June 2, 2023. Now, his family claims none of the employees or security guards came to help.
“It’s awful what happened that day,” said John Meyer, the owner of Mountain Wookie’s, a clothing shop that shares a parking lot with the Taco Bell and KFC.
Both the KFC and Taco Bell still serve customers two years after one of them was killed in their parking lot.
“I pulled in as they were, you know, pulling the bodies out of the cars and… then all of a sudden it was cops and everything, tape,” said Meyer.
Campbell was buying food during his lunch break in June of 2023, and while he was in the drive-thru, a homeless names David Emmanuel Karles got in the car and held him at gunpoint. The homeless man killed Campbell and himself, and now the Campbell family is suing both restaurants for negligence.
“That was, that was hard on a lot of psyches around here,” said Meyer.
Meyer said crime has always been in issue in the area.
“The junkies have moved from heroin on to fentanyl and most of them smoke it as opposed to shooting it. So, we see way fewer needles, but you know, drugs are still an issue,” he said.
But Meyer said since Campbell died, he thinks the area has gotten better.
“Everyone in the neighborhood was talking about all the bodies they were finding in the alley back here, and you know, we haven’t had any of that in this block in a long time now, which is automatically an improvement,” said Meyer.
The lawsuit claims both Taco Bell and KFC, owned by KBP brands, knew about the criminal activity on their premises and surrounding areas, and says Colorado Springs Police received more than 70 reports of crimes happening at the restaurants.
“You know, what the grounds are for the lawsuit… I just hope it’s resolved. You know, I feel for the family,” said Meyer.
FOX21 News reached out to KBP Brands for a comment and will update this article if we hear back.
